WASHINGTON, DC – New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed suit today on behalf of twelve states challenging a recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule that limits public access to information about toxic chemical releases. The rule, finalized in December 2006, allows industries to withhold information on the quantities and locations of toxic chemical releases previously reported to the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI).
The TRI makes public information about toxic chemical releases by requiring industrial facilities to disclose their toxic pollution and waste management activities. This information empowers communities, workers and individuals to protect their health and local environment.
“EPA’s rollbacks set a dangerous precedent that undermines two decades of public access to toxic pollution data,” said Environment America staff attorney Alex Fidis. “Congress established the TRI program to serve the public by providing toxic release information, and the lawsuit is a welcome action to compel EPA to comply with the law.”
The twelve-state lawsuit, filed in federal district court, challenges EPA’s rule as a violation of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 – the law that created the TRI. The suit alleges that EPA violated the Act by eliminating a substantial majority of the toxic chemical information, by arbitrarily reversing a previous policy on collecting data for a dangerous class of persistent and bioaccumulative toxics, and for improperly attempting to limit the public disclosure of information.
The lawsuit follows a California law enacted in response to EPA’s rule. The law requires California facilities to continue full TRI reporting as if EPA’s rule did not exist. EPA’s right-to-know restrictions have also been opposed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the U.S. House of Representatives, more than 122,000 public commentors, and the EPA’s own Science Advisory Board. In congressional testimony, the Government Accountability Office stated, “The TRI reporting changes will likely have a significant impact on information available to the public about dozens of toxic chemicals from thousands of facilities in states and communities across the country.”
Environment America supports the Toxic Right-to-Know Protection Act (S. 595, H.R. 1055), federal legislation introduced by Senator Lautenberg and Representative Pallone to reverse EPA’s assault on the public’s right-to-know about toxic chemicals in communities. The other states joining New York are: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Vermont.
